The Crystal Shard by R.A. Salvatore

The Crystal Shard was the first fantasy novel I read, coming from a childhood of Conan comics and Dungeon and Dragons, it was a natural progression for someone who like to read. The Crystal Shard was the first novel in the Icewind Dale Trilogy and the first time fans were introduced to the extremely popular character Drizzt Do’Urden, the Dark Elf with heart and conscience.

The trilogy follows the adventures of Drizzt, Wulfgar the Barbarian, Regis the Halfling, Bruenor the Dwarf, and his human adopted daughter Cattie-brie. If you’re a fantasy fan it’s a plot we’ve all heard before. An evil wizard is gaining power and raising an army to conquer the world and a small band of heroes rise up to defeat him or her, with a bunch of dangerous missions in between. But it’s not the plat that makes the story, it’s the characters, how they develop and interact and how they make us care and cheer for them. And Salvatore created some of the most beloved characters in the world when he wrote The Crystal Shard.